The existence of the main battle tank Type 90-II MBT (also called MBT 2000) was first revealed in late 1991. The Type 90-II is designed and manufactured by the Chinese Company NORINCO. The Type 90-II MBT was also much heavier than previous Chinese-made MBTs, suggesting a transformation of design principles in the Chinese tanks. The tank received extensive field testing but did not enter production due to lack of interest from either domestic or foreign customers. The Type 90-II is not a totally new design with around 45% of its components coming from current designs. This can be broken down as follows: 10% from the Type 59, 15% from the Type 69, and 20% from the Type 85/88C; the remaining 55% being new components. The overall layout of the Type 90-II MBT is conventional with the driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the centre and power pack at the rear. Under a contract signed in May 1990, the Type 90-II is also to be manufactured under licence in Pakistan and further development has resulted in the Khalid MBT which is tailored to meet the specific operational requirements of the Pakistani Armoured Corps.

Main armament of the Type 90-II consists of a fully-stabilised 125mm auto-fed smoothbore gun capable of firing various types of ammunition including high explosive, high explosive fragmentation and APFSDS. The main gun is fitted with a thermal sleeve and fume extractor. It is fed by an automatic loader which holds a total of 22 projectiles and charges which can be loaded at the rate of six to eight per minute. The gun can fire HEAT, HE-FRAG, and APFSDS munitions. The gun is also capable of firing the 9M119 Refleks guided missile. Second armament includes a 7.62mm co-axial machine gun and a 12.7mm air defence machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola. Mounted either side of the turret is a bank of six electrically operated smoke grenade launchers which fire forwards

Design and protection

The hull of Type 90-II is of welded steel construction with an additional layer of composite armour at the front. Explosive reactive armour has been added to the glacis plate and nose of the vehicle. The turret is in the centre and is of all-welded steel armour construction to which a layer of composite armour has been added over the frontal arc. In addition to the turret front, packs of explosive reactive armour have also been added to the sides and forward roof.

Propulsion

The power pack of the Type 90-II consists of the engine, transmission and cooling system and can be removed as a complete unit in 30 minutes. The engine is a British Perkins Engines Company Shrewsbury CV12-1200 TCA diesel developing 1,200 hp coupled to a French SESM ESM 500 automatic transmission. Suspension is of the torsion bar type with hydraulic shock absorbers and either side consists of six large dual rubber-tyred road wheels with the drive sprocket at the front, idler at the rear and track return rollers. The upper part of the suspension is covered by a rubber skirt with the forward part on either side being covered by explosive reactive armour. The Type 90-II can run on road at a maximum speed of 63 km/h, on a maximum range of 450 km. To extend the operational range of the Type 90-II MBT, two additional diesel fuel drums can be mounted externally at the rear.

Accessories

The Type 90-II is equipped with an Image Stabilised Fire-Control System (ISFCS) includes a thermal imager module, laser range-finder integrated into the gunner's sight, control panel, ballistic computer and a roof-mounted sensor for crosswind, tilt and angular velocity. Standard equipment includes an anti-neutron liner for the crew compartments, collective NBC system, explosion/fire detection and suppression system and infrared reflecting paint. It can also lay a smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust outlets at the rear of the hull. A snorkel is mounted to the back side of the turret, with this system the Type 90-II can cross a river with a maximum depth of 5 meters. Without preparation the Type 90-II can cross a river with a maximum depth of 1.40 m.